Category: Uncategorized

Driver of Speeding White Tesla hits and kills bicyclist in Phoenix before fleeing the scene

{UPDATE: news now (published Wed Oct 22) says Osborne near Piestewa in a marked crosswalk. Which would be probably at the canal/trail crossing, which appears to have a HAWK signal]

Today is Tuesday. In an important update to  the hit and run killing Sunday afternoon (in addition to a motorcylist seriously injured in separate hit-and-run!) — how are we just now learning that the “white car” is a white Tesla. That’s a lot more specific don’t you think?

2025-10-19 ~ 3pm Osborne Rd near Piestawa Fwy bicyclist Will Castañeda killed in a marked crosswalk by a hit-and-run driver of a white Tesla. Osborne Rd runs underneath the freeway, there is no freeway access here. There are marked crosswalks both immediately east and west of the underpass, the Grand Canal Path is on the the west side and has a HAWK signal, the crosswalk on the east side is uncontrolled.

In any event BOLO white tesla w/ front damage. Here is the article published yesterday: Continue reading “Driver of Speeding White Tesla hits and kills bicyclist in Phoenix before fleeing the scene”

Doordash Dot and Polar Labs’ Personal Delivery Device

Polar Labs delivery robot testing in Tempe, June 2025

I’ve had a couple of inquiries about these gizmos — the official legal term is “personal delivery device” —  so I wanted to finally assemble updated (the current AZ law is from 2020) info, go here.

In brief: these are able to be fully autonomously guided (driven?), can use sidewalks and streets with certain restrictions: max speed being the most obvious.

My thought on safety is these would be a net positive in that they have very little chance of causing a serious injury to anybody, compared to a vehicle. We’ve seen first hand what gig working food deliver drivers can do. Continue reading “Doordash Dot and Polar Labs’ Personal Delivery Device”

Man sentenced for deadly 2023 cyclist crash in Goodyear

With two dead and a dozen or more injured in a single incident, this is probably the most famous MV-bike fatal crash in Arizona, if not the entire US, history; including a full NTSB investigation.

As the county attorney refused to bring felony charges… 1 year plus some license suspension and whatnot. Full story here.

Cities of Phoenix and Tempe re-start photo enforcement

The city administration last year produced this look at the impact of automated traffic enforcement devices when they were deployed in Phoenix between 2011-2019 – and what happened after the council shut down the program.
(File graphic; Ahwatukee Foothill News)

What goes around comes around? After ending all photo enforcement several years ago, the Cities of Phoenix will soon re-start and Tempe started a month ago.

 

And behind the scenes, the Republican controlled legislature has tried and failed year-after-year-after-year, for over a decade, to ban all photo enforcement anywhere in Arizona. Some years, the ban gets passed, and the governor (when Democrat) vetoes it. Most recently, Democrat gov Hobbs vetoed it (twice if i recall correctly). Other years, the bill dies, saving the embarrassment of having a Republican governor from vetoing it (e.g. SB1419 in 2021).  Continue reading “Cities of Phoenix and Tempe re-start photo enforcement”

Tempe teen bicyclist hurt after crash with alleged red light runner

McClintock at Watson. (Watson is just north of Guadalupe). It appears driver ran a red along McClintock while the teen cyclist was crossing in a crosswalk at Watson. https://www.azfamily.com/video/2025/02/09/teen-bicyclist-hurt-after-crash-with-alleged-red-light-runner/

Recall that Jay fretz was killed in 2010 by a red light runner along McClintock at Alameda. https://azbikelaw.org/commuter-cyclist-killed-in-tempe/

Suspected DUI driver crashes into Ahwatukee home

Yikes.

Suspected DUI? of course. Hit and Run? uh huh.

Arizona has tough DUI laws, right? Don’t count on it. If the driver is found to be impaired, expect nothing more than a misdemeanor DUI. Possibly misdemeanor hit-and-run (as apparently there were no injuries, unless you count the driver’s bump on the head). Prosecutors seem to have no imagination. EnDANGERment? Naw. Continue reading “Suspected DUI driver crashes into Ahwatukee home”

Bicyclist killed in crash at all-way stop in Prescott Valley

2025-02-02 8:17am

Prescott Valley PD posted on their facebook:

… on Sunday, February 2, 2025, at 8:17am involving a bicycle rider at the intersection of Viewpoint and Spouse Drive. The incident occurred when a male cyclist traveling north on Viewpoint did not yield to a motorist traveling east on Spouse. The cyclist was not wearing a helmet at the time of the a*******. (I censored the a-word. PVPD: please #crashnotaccident. I’m not a fan of the helmet comment, either). Continue reading “Bicyclist killed in crash at all-way stop in Prescott Valley”

Phoenix drunken driving deaths soared last year; enforcement declines

Yikes. Not to single-out City of Phoenix; but we can objectively say that City of Phoenix is doing an bad job at pro-active traffic enforcement.

Phoenix drunken driving deaths soared last year

Fatalities in drunken-driving accidents within Phoenix city limits doubled in 2023 over the prior year and accounted for over a third of all crash deaths recorded in Phoenix…. Continue reading “Phoenix drunken driving deaths soared last year; enforcement declines”

Tucson ranked third most dangerous metro in entire US?!

SmartGrowthAmerica’s Dangerous by Design report has the Tucson area at the third most-dangerous metro by ped deaths in the United States for the period 2018-2022 (at 4.16 ped deaths per 100,000 population).

According to the chart, the Tuscon area catapulted from a much better (the light pink part of the bar) figure in the, prior period, 2013-2017 when it was  would have been much lower down on the list.

Continue reading “Tucson ranked third most dangerous metro in entire US?!”